I love this movie. . .
But but in the song that Zsa Zsa sings, what do the lyrics mean about "your 17th year"? IS there something that I'm missing, or is it an "art song" that I should just take at face value
Also, isn't his the best "Death Scene" ever?
Thanks for any help with the song. . .
With the miserable dubbing of whoever really sang the song, and Gabor's horrible mouthing of it... it's hard to tell a lot about this song's lyrics... but I have always understood it to be about lovers remembering their years of love.... a woman's '17th year' of love 'beside the river Seine'.
shareHi,
I have always assumed it referred to when the singer was 17 years old and she is thinking back to those days "beside the river Seine" when they were 17-year old lovers.
Here's what IMDb soundtrack listing says...
* "It's April Again"
Music by Georges Auric
English Lyric adapted by Paul Dehn
French Lyric by Jacques Larue
Sung by Zsa Zsa Gabor (dubbed by Muriel Smith)
2. Song From Moulin Rouge Lyrics: William Engvick; Music: Georges Auric Sometimes known as "Where Is Your Heart" Originally called "Le Long de la Seine"
I checked out the wikipedia link, but there is no mention of "Le Long de la Seine." Where did you dig up this information? I'd like to know because I've long been looking for the French lyrics of the song.
On another website (epinions.com), I was told that the French title of the song is "Moulin des Amours," but I checked out the lyrics of this song on a Mireille Mathieu website and it seems to be something else.
Here are the English lyrics, by the way, as recorded by Felicia Sanders with the Percy Faith orchestra:
THEME FROM MOULIN ROUGE
(WHERE IS YOUR HEART)
Whenever we kiss,
I worry and wonder.
Your lips may be near,
But where is your heart?
It’s always like this,
I worry and wonder.
You’re close to me here,
But where is your heart?
It’s a sad thing to realize
That you’ve a heart that never melts.
When we kiss, do you close your eyes
Pretending that I’m someone else?
You must break this spell,
This cloud that I’m under,
So please won’t you tell,
Tell me where is your heart?
Great death scene indeed
"Toulouse - heard you were dying and just had to come"
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A wide screen just makes a bad film twice as bad - Sam Goldwyn
Ok, after searching all over for the lyrics to the song, the way it is sung in the film... with no success, and no explanation anywhere on how the popular song became 'Where is your Heart?'... I got the lyrics directly from the film...stopping and starting again after each line. I believe most of it to be accurate, but there are some passages that are harder to understand, and Gabor's horrible mouthing didn't help any.
Away, Away, the river goes rolling
Oh may, oh may, our love remain true
It's April again and lovers are lining the banks of the Seine
It's April again and every eye is shining
Was it love that let your lucky fingers seek mine that you were meant to hold?
Was it love that sang a song that lingered, now both of us are growing old?
Lie closer my dear, and hear the refrain, of your seventeenth year
In sun and the rain, beside the river Seine oh...
Away, Away, the river goes rolling
Oh may, Oh may, our love remain true
It's April again and lilacs are springing the length of the Seine
It's April again and everyone is singing
Was it love that led me on a Sunday to dance with you beneath the trees?
Was it love that called on a Monday, the music of the river breeze?
Lie closer my dear and listen again, to your seventeenth year in sun and the rain
beside the river Seine oh...
Away, Away, the river goes rolling
Oh may, Oh may, our love remain true
Lie closer again, I dance with here, in sun and the rain til early next year
beside the river Seine oh...
I got the lyrics directly from the film...stopping and starting again after each line.
I didn't even think of turning the subtitles on... the whole thing didn't take long at all anyway... besides it was fun to see Zsa Zsa in freeze frame... looking great with NOTHING coming out of her mouth. lol.
shareWell, Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. . .
Now, that I see the lyrics, It seems that this is an anniversary song, sung to your lover of 17 years. . .
Yeah, it's a shame that the Princess LOOKED so great for the part but could not fake singing OR dancing. . .
Thanks for your help again. . .
Someone please tell me whether the music is original to the movie or adapted from another source.
share"The Song from Moulin Rouge" (also known as "Where Is Your Heart") is a popular song, first appearing in the 1952 movie, Moulin Rouge.
The music was written by Georges Auric. The original French lyrics were by Jacques Larue, the English words by William Engvick.
In the movie, the song was sung by Muriel Smith, dubbing for Zsa Zsa Gabor who lip-synched to Smith's singing.
(Wikipedia)
Lie closer my dear, and hear the refrain, of your seventeenth year
In sun and the rain, beside the river Seine oh...
could it be that in April we recall what it was like to be young (seventeen) and in love? The lyric says "your" not our seventeenth year.
Oh! VERY GOOD!
Not being a musician "refrain" didn't pop out as a clue to me.
Looking it up I find:
re·frain2 (r¹-fr³n“) n. 1.a. A phrase, verse, or group of verses repeated at intervals throughout a song or poem, especially at the end of each stanza.
So, by "lying closer" to your love you remember what it was like in "your 17th year".
Young love, first love. . . Great. . .
Thanks!
Actually, this is a reply to "eddyskiva" who posted the lyrics of the song as sung in the movie. Probably before the dvd came out. Thanks to the MGM dvd, we now know the words for sure.
For years, I wondered what was the word or words that came after "Was it love led me on a Sunday to dance with you beneath the trees? Was it love . . . on a Monday the music of the river breeze?"
Eddyskiva supplied "that called," but some time ago, before my hunch was confirmed by the captioned soundtrack, I flirted with "re-told" and then finally suspected the word "echoed." The dvd confirms that "echoed" is the right word.
Also the last line is more correctly written: "Lie closer again. I danced with you here in the sun and the rain the very next year beside the river Seine, Oh." There are other minor glitches, but the effort to let folks know about the movie version of the song is commendable.
Anyway,the movie version written by Paul Dehn (so we are told) is remarkable. So little credit is given to him. Indeed, little credit at the time to the voice artist Muriel Smith (who I saw finally acknowledged by John Huston in an interview many years later).
I have never been able to track down the reason why this Dehn version was not recorded for the popular market and why the William Engvick version ("Where is Your Heart") became the standard American version. Not that I dislike the Percy Faith/Felicia Sanders (nee Schwartz) version. In the USA that version is what I recall as a kid, and I treasure it as one of my favorites. Still, it would have been nice to get the soundtrack version or a good cover version on a single disc around that time.
According to daugher Anjelica, the song was written for the film and if you are that interested, you can go to EMI or check out all of the recording companies in France.......there are not that many, and this was probably registered with an American company.I believe it was originally produced by Romulus films and start from there.
shareAccording to daughter Anjelica, the song was written for the film and if you are that interested, you can go to EMI or check out all of the recording companies in France.......there are not that many, and this was probably registered with an American company.I believe it was originally produced by Romulus films and start from there.
share[deleted]